I see the appeal of this book and it's fine I guess, but I really kind of can't stand it. I didn't find the romance plot romantic-following a story where like 75% of the book is one character pining over her ex was tedious. I had to force myself to read it which is not a good sign. I kept waiting for some actual plot to happen, but just found myself overwhelming bored.

I thought this was a cute story, a little slow paced which might make it difficult to keep a young reader's attention. I enjoyed the actual writing, it didn't read lika adult fiction masquerading as YA, but an actual YA book geared towards younger teens. Things that stand out to me, besides the overall pacing (particularly later into the book), were things like run on sentences. But the narrators are teenagers, that is how a teenager telling a story to someone would convey it.

"The Key to You and Me" is a fluffy and heart-warming lesbian teen romance, especially current or former horse girls. The main characters are complex and likable and readers will root for them until the very end. An excellent addition to any #OWNVOICES collection and/or display.

Maybe I’m just prejudiced against horse girls, but I honestly thought I wouldn’t like this book when I started it. Thankfully (for me, at least) this book did not completely revolve around horse riding. It’s a very character-driven book about two girls, Piper and Kat. Piper is the horse rider, and she is very driven and confident in who she is. Kat, on the other hand, is just trying to figure everything out. They are introduced to each other through Piper’s grandma, who hires Kat to teach Piper how to drive. This part of the storyline was one of my favorite parts of the book. As someone who has (mostly) gotten over some major driving anxiety, I found Piper to be super relatable and loved all the scenes with their driving lessons. The romance was very drawn out and pretty well done. The characters could be really frustrating at times, but ultimately I thought it came together well.
My biggest critique of this book is the way that the characters are written in relation to being teenagers. The way they text and interact with social media is so off base from reality, and there were a lot of moments where I really cringed because of the inaccuracy. The strangest part about it is that a lot of their weird inaccurate things actually affected the plot? So there’s no way this could have played out in real life exactly the way it was written. So if you’re willing to look past this element, it really is a fun and quick read.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review :)

3.5 stars

This is a solid LGBTQ+ YA novel told from the perspectives of Piper and Kat. Piper is queer and out, and Kat is questioning and very much not out for much of the novel. A lot of the conversation focuses on these differing experiences and points of view, and there is a clear through line between them meeting and potentially working toward a romantic relationship.

Some of the representation left me wanting a bit more. One character talks about "sexual preference" in place of "sexual orientation," and this is not in an ironic way. There are a variety of responses to people's coming out moments, but the one person who struggles the most is just briefly mentioned and not explored much. I think more conversation around that piece could be helpful for the intended audience here.

I enjoyed the writing and the pacing, but I'd like to see a bit more attention to detail here.

This was a pretty cute f/f romance, if a little slow. I enjoyed the fully realized characters and setting. The little bits of humor where nice too. Even though it was quite a slow burn, it was a fun read.

The novel was cute and endearing but lacked a bit of motivation for the characters. I do like that w get more LGBTQ stories aimed at YA audience. Keep it up!

I'll start out with the positive: the main characters, Piper and Kat, were well fleshed out as well as some other secondary characters. I liked the relationships between all the characters and how they were all different but deep in their own way. I liked how both girls were finding things out about themselves even while one had been out as a lesbian for years and the other was still questioning.

Now the cons: this novel covered everything in the publisher's description, plus one more relationship with one of the girls and a couple side storylines with Kat's sister and Piper's living situation. That's it. The whole novel took place over a few weeks and it didn't seem like much happened. Again, I liked the interplay of the characters, but the action was pretty minimal. By the time I got to the end of the book, I expected the story to really heat up. It seemed more like all of that could have been the first third of the book and still another 200 pages written.

Overall I did like the novel. It would have gotten another star if it was more action-oriented instead of character-oriented, but that's just my preference.

Watching this slow burn romance unfold was very cute, especially as the characters grew to realize things about themselves in the process. And Piper's grandmother was amazing - I pictured her as an older Katharine Hepburn-type and greatly enjoyed it. One of the best things, to me, is how other characters in the novel were not simply obstacles, but served as a way for Piper and/or Kat to unlock pieces of their path of self-discovery. Though I know nothing about horse life, I think that part of the novel will definitely intrigue may readers as well.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this ARC in exchange for my review.*

Cute queer romance, believable teens. A lot of horse stuff which, I'm not a horse person but it's fine. A sweet, fluffy read to close out a year of harsh reality. The "missed connections" plot got a little drawn out by the end which is why 3 stars instead of 4.

*ARC provided by Netgalley and the publisher*
Initially I was really excited by the premise of this book- a f/f coming of age story about a small town girl and a horse rider? So intriguing. However, this book really fell flat for me. I think that Kat and her family were fairly fleshed out, but Piper really began to feel one dimensional as the story moved on. The writing was very strange, and there were several phrases and scenes that made me very uncomfortable.
Overall, this was a very big letdown. The plot was underwhelming and unnecessarily stretched out, but I did enjoy reading about the horses.

This was such a quick and fun read, and the I'm loving the queer representation! I mean who isn't going to look at this and see a Sapphic horse girl love story and say hell yeah?!

I really enjoyed reading The Key to You and Me! I managed to binge through it on breaks and after work in a matter of days. While I wasn't the biggest fan of every character, it's still the kind of queer representation I would've found when I was a little younger. Piper as a character took a long time to grow on me. She felt too hung up on her ex, and while she was very driven it also made her feel kind of self centered. However, I did see a lot of growth in her throughout the storyline and her ever evolving relationship with Kat. Kat was a character that I found myself loving and identifying with from the start. As a queer reader myself who struggled for a long time before coming out, her point of view was one I found myself relating to often. Her internal monologue is well rounded and witty, and it was amazing to read along as she became more comfortable in her own skin.

Overall, I was a big fan of this book. It was a quick and easy read. While I wasn't the biggest fan of Piper and found myself struggling to stay engaged with the amount of horse information provided, it was still a fun read overall. I found myself wishing to see more further down the line in their lives. Thank you to Jaye Robin Brown and NetGalley as well as the publisher for allowing me to read The Key to You and Me in advance in exchange for an honest review!

Piper is openly queer, nursing a heartbreak, and visiting her grandmother for the summer. Kat is a local, in the closet, and recruited to show Piper around town.

This YA romance hits all the right beats. Alternating points of view had me invested in protecting both girls‘ hearts and wincing sympathetically at their hardships. Beyond the romance, Piper’s ambition to be an Olympic rider and Kat’s fierce family loyalty gave them dimension and likability.

And as a queer reader, I appreciated that a variety of lgbtq coming out experiences are represented - Piper’s confidence, Kat’s exploration, and Elliot’s rocky parental expectations. The general teen experience is realistically portrayed too, with drinking and hook up culture and consent addressed without feeling preachy - and with respect to characters who aren’t ready for those things.

Perfect as a quick, light comfort read.

I got this book on request from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Alright so lets start out by saying I really wanted to like this book. I love seeing more saphic books coming out but sadly this book has so many issues.
For started this books pacing was so off. I felt like just the last 1/4th of the book really said anything. Nothing ever seemed to happen. I kept waiting and waiting for a build up or a major plot break but it never came. I kept saying it will pick up but it never did. I just felt sort of let down by the end.
The writing also wasn't great. Don't get me wrong I am not a grammar major and I know I make plenty of mistakes in my reviews no matter how hard I try not to. But I am also not a professional writer like Brown. This is not her first novel so one might think her writing would be better but sadly this is not the case. I felt like every other sentence was a run on. There were times I had to reread sentences because her wording was just so weird. It made an already slow book even harder to get though.
Now I could have seen past those things if it wasn't for my major problem with this book. It felt like Brown has some serious internalized homophobia that she seemed to be working out on the page. She wrote many things that were just plain upsetting to see in a saphic book especially one by some who is saphic themselves. If I had read this as a young lesbian I would not have felt better about myself or my identity which is what books like this should do at least in part!
This book really had the potential to be great but Brown was unable to follow through. I was beyond disappointed by this book. I tried so hard to look past issues with this book but sadly there was just to much to over look. I don't think I will be reading anything else by Brown

Really enjoyed this book- thought it would be a simple romance at the start, but there were layers of genuine complication. While many readers may not be into horsemanship, which forms the focus of the book, the characters are very relatable and real.

**I received an ARC from the publisher on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading The Key To You And Me. I binged read the book. You can't help but fall in love with the characters Piper and Kat. Piper knows who she is and is comfortable in her skin. Kat, on the other hand, hasn't quite figured it out and is worried how everyone around her will deal with it. This isn't your typical love book where it starts off fast, it's a slow build but it's so worth it. Oh, and it has horses! What more could you want. This book has a great story about self discovery and will be a great addition to lgbtq+ books.

I loved the idea of this story - small-town southern girl teaches city girl to drive, fun and flirty, throw in some horses and making an ex jealous, and you've got the ingredients for a easy romance. Unfortunately, Piper was too hung up on her ex-girlfriend, and Kat was too fixated on hiding her sexuality, which left little room for romantic tension. The relationship between the girls felt like a potential friendship that was being forced into a romantic relationship for the sake of the plot.

Review posted on GoodReads (November 3, 2020)
Review linked.

3/5 stars!

Synopsis:
Piper Kitts is spending the summer living with her grandmother, training at the barn of a former Olympic horseback rider, and trying to get over her ex-girlfriend. Much to Piper’s dismay, her grandmother is making her face her fear of driving head-on by taking lessons from a girl in town.

Kat Pearson has always suspected that she likes girls, but fears her North Carolina town is too small to color outside the lines. But when Piper comes to town and her grandmother hires Kat to give her driving lessons, everything changes.

Piper’s not sure if she’s ready to let go of her ex. Kat’s navigating uncharted territory with her new crush. With the summer running out, will they be able to unlock a future together?


A huge thank you to NetGalley and HarperTeen for sending me an E-ARC for an honest review.

The moment I heard about this book, I thought that it sounded really cute. I was super excited to get an ARC of this book. This book was fun to read! I think that both of the main characters were really easy to connect with. What I liked about the characters is that both of the girls had their own personal flaws and problems as young adults, and it was interesting to follow them throughout the story and see how they grew and changed as people.

Overall, I liked this book. I didn't end up loving it as much as I was hoping I would. There were a few plots points that I didn't like near the middle of the book. Without talking about spoilers, I felt that there were some things that the author brought up in the book but then never really resolved. Some plot points felt unfinished to me. In the end, I liked this book, but I didn't end up loving it. I do still recommend it to people who love Contemporary Romance.

Thanks for reading!
Caden

As someone who’s lived in the South her entire life, in tiny towns and big cities, I can definitely appreciate the way Jaye Robin Brown paints this small town in North Carolina. This is one novel that I feel would have benefited from a single POV rather than the split that was used, but I’m always super picky about the usage of that. The growth of the relationship over the course of the novel is adorable and it’s nice seeing each of the girls come to terms with their individual situations. For a lighthearted queer romance, this one is a great pick.